Brownstown

Brownstown Township, Michigan

by Bret Schnitzer

The region now known as Brownstown was, like surrounding areas in Michigan, once a part of the French Province Quebec. The area eventually fell into hands of the British and finally came under American rule in the 18th century. The original 43-square-mile (110 km2) area of land south of Detroit was designated a township by the Michigan Territorial Commission on April 5, 1827, when Moses Roberts was elected its first supervisor. This made Brownstown one of Wayne County’s nine original townships
Legend holds that the township was named for Adam Brown, who was kidnapped by the Wyandot Indians. Brown was raised by the Wyandots, married a native woman and grew to become a tribal leader. As time passed, settlements spread out from the lakeshore to begin changing the swampy, sand-hill countryside into productive farm land. Established in 1893 Kurtzhals Farm is one of the largest remaining farms in the township.